As Southwest Washington continues to dig itself out of one of the biggest snowstorms in a century, Vancouver home and business owners are reminded that it’s their job to shovel their sidewalks.
Those who live in unincorporated Clark County don’t face the same requirement.
Some parts of Vancouver saw as much as 12.5 inches of snow from Tuesday night’s storm, making one of the 10 largest snowfalls in city history. After a busy day for snowplow drivers, the area’s arterial streets are drivable. But in many areas clogged sidewalks are making it difficult for pedestrians to get around.
While it’s up to the city and the county to maintain the streets, the sidewalks are the responsibility of the adjacent property owner.
“It needs to be passable,” said Loretta Callahan, spokeswoman for Vancouver Public Works. “When people clear them, don’t put the snow in the street, put it in the yard.”
The city of Vancouver municipal code Section 11.30.030 says it’s a violation for adjacent property owners to allow snow or ice, or, for that matter, “volcanic ash, dust, or debris,” to accumulate on the sidewalk.
However, the city doesn’t put a time limit on when sidewalks need to be cleared.
The city of Vancouver will clear them around city-owned property, Callahan said. Sidewalks in front of city hall or along a city park, a police station or other facilities will be cleared.
While Clark County Public Works plows county-owned streets, it’s not going to touch private roads — even where they connect to county roads — driveways or sidewalks.
Paul Scarpelli, animal protection and control manager and code enforcement manager, for the county said that driving around yesterday he saw a number of people walking on streets rather than using the snow-covered sidewalks.
The county requires residents to keep sidewalks in good structural condition, but it doesn’t require them to clear the snow.
“If we’re not doing it then how can we make the citizens do it?” he said. “One or twice a year we get a dusting … it’s a little short-sighted to try to regulate given the brevity of these larger snowstorms.”
